Nathan Kensinger has long been fascinated by the visible evidence of communities undergoing change, especially in Brooklyn, where the heavy industry and manufacturing plants from last century have morphed into abandoned ruins and then began the transformation into housing, parks and commercial development. The images in Industrial Twilight show us the eerie stillness of places where industry thrived, from Sunset Park to Williamsburg and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Kensinger finds poetry in these places and leaves a lasting reminder that while change is constant, history surrounds us with a reminder that before Brooklyn became a “brand”, it was an economic engine that employed thousands of people. Kensinger's images reveal a lone canoeist gliding down the Gowanus Canal past a concrete plant still going strong with the F train in the background, and images of the pre-transformation waterfront at Bush Terminal and the Domino Sugar Refinery. The architecture and lighting in the images of the Brooklyn Army Terminal and Greenpoint Terminal Market provides a haunting but reverent look at the borough in this moment of time, while an overgrown home at Admiral’s Row reflects that growth is never ending, and the waterfront still captures the imagination of the borough.

Nathan Kensinger is a photographer, filmmaker and curator based in Brooklyn, New York. His work explores hidden urban landscapes, and has been documenting New York City’s changing waterfront for the past decade, in an ongoing series of photo essays that are currently published as the Camera Obscura column at Curbed. Kensinger’s photographs have been exhibited by the Museum of the City of New York, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, and numerous galleries. His work has been featured by The New Yorker, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and New York Magazine. He received his BA in Documentary Film from Hampshire College, and his photographs are in the collections of the Brooklyn Historical Society, the Brooklyn Library and the Museum of the City of New York. He is curating Chance Ecologies, a public art project exploring the importance of wilderness along the post-industrial waterfront, which will be at the Queens Museum this Fall.